Based on analysis of existing data such as family planning practices, birth intervals, family size, women's education and urbanization, and women's participation in different types of activity, the investigators designed and implemented a national survey of 2,465 women ages 15 to 49 and focused on women's participation in household decisions and on economic and sociopolitical activities as these related to reproductive behavior.

Zimbabwe

Socioeconomic factors have limited women's role in Zimbabwe's development process. In part, this disadvantage is historic: In the Colonial era, men from rural villages migrated to urban areas to work in commercial agriculture and mining. There they acquired skills and technical experience – opportunities unavailable to women, who remained at home. Despite post-independence legislation that has led to more choices in education and employment, Zimbabwean women today remain subordinate to men in many respects.

Family planning often has been promoted as a means to improve countries' economic development. Zimbabwean women have adopted modern family planning methods in large numbers, and fertility and family size have declined. However, the current economy, severely affected by structural adjustment and other factors, has limited the extent to which men and women have been able to realize the economic benefits of smaller families. Yet, it is nonetheless important to understand how contraceptive use affects women's lives and how lower fertility can enhance their ability to participate equally with men in their country's development.

Research Findings

Based on analysis of existing data such as family planning practices, birth intervals, family size, women's education and urbanization, and women's participation in different types of activity, the investigators designed and implemented a national survey with the cooperation of the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC). The new survey reached 2,465 women ages 15 to 49 and focused on women's participation in household decisions and on economic and sociopolitical activities as these related to reproductive behavior. Women responded to questions about current and previous participation in development activities, the timing of key events in their reproductive history, and contraceptive use.

• Despite high contraceptive use and a corresponding decline in fertility, women in Zimbabwe remain largely outside the nation's formal economy and political process. Even so, 92 percent of women said family planning influences women's success.

• Most childbearing occurred within marriage, with the typical respondent reporting first sex at age 18, marriage at 19, and first birth at 21.

• Thirty-nine percent of all women reported contraceptive use -- with higher use among urban women, younger women, and women with more education. Fifty-six percent of married women in the sample were currently using contraception, a higher rate than the 48 percent reported in the 1994 DHS.

• Data suggest that first sex increasingly takes place at an earlier age: 31 percent of women under 30 reported having had their first sexual encounter while still in school, compared to 16 percent of women over 30.

• The educational gap between males and females has narrowed in recent years. Women surveyed reported an average of nine years of schooling, compared to 10 years for their husbands/partners. Among women under 30, school attendance rates were 98 percent, compared to 82 percent for women over 30.

• Autonomous decision-making about use of family planning increased with the number of children: approximately 21 percent of women using family planning after the birth of their first child made that decision on their own, compared with 30 percent who made the decision after their fourth child. Nevertheless, those using family planning irrespective of parity were twice as likely to have made that decision jointly with their husbands. Women who thought they were expected to work were more likely to make autonomous decisions about family planning than those who did not work. Educated women were also more likely to make autonomous family planning decisions than women with less education.

• Only 32 percent of the women worked outside the home – similar to the percentage in 1984. Older women with more education were more likely to be working, and women who used family planning at younger ages were more likely to report they were currently working.

• Few women participated in community activities; however, women who participated in community affairs at an early age tended to continue these activities throughout their reproductive lives.

Recommendations

• Since many women begin sexual activity while they are still in school and some 90 percent do not use contraception at first sex, schools should improve family life programs to help both young women and men gain a better understanding of sexuality, family planning, and the consequences of reproductive behaviors.

• Contraceptive services should be made more accessible to young and unmarried women and men, who are often excluded from family planning programs.

• Both men and women should be educated about the importance of involving women in the political process.

• Public and private sector institutions should promote the participation of women in income-generating activities and provide training and skills to enable women to compete successfully in political activity and at all levels of the work force.

• Women, themselves, must learn to be effective advocates for programs that will improve their lives and the lives of their families.

Study Details

The principal investigator for this study was Dr. Marvellous Mhloyi, assisted by the late Mr. Tinodaishe Hove, Dr. Ravai Marindo Ranganai and Mr. Owen Mapfumo of the University of Zimbabwe; Ms. Caroline Marangwanda of the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council; and Dr. Emily Wong and Ms. Cynthia Visness of Family Health International (FHI). Dr. Priscilla R. Ulin of FHI was the technical monitor.